The man who escaped
(episode 5)
1. Only a few miles from the house Coke is in, two policemen in a small village police station can hear the wind outside. One of them is a sergeant. The other’s much younger.
“I wonder how Mrs Bentley is?” the sergeant asks.
“Mrs Bentley? Oh, you mean that old lady whose husband died a few years ago?”
“That’s right. She’s deaf, you know, so she never listens to the radio or watches television. In fact, she doesn’t even read the papers.”
“Oh?” the young policeman says. He wonders why the sergeant wants to tell him all this. Then he finds out.
“Why don’t you go out to her place and see if she’s all right?”
“Who? Me? On a night like this?”
“It’s not far. Besides, you’ve got your bike, haven’t you?”
2. Baxter gets off the train at a small station. There is a detective waiting for him on the platform. He is shaking Baxter’s hand.
“My name’s Halls, Tom Halls. Scotland Yard phoned us and told us to meet you here. There’s a car waiting.”
Baxter doesn’t waste any time on social formalities.
“Coke escaped more than 24 hours ago. I want to catch him before another 24 hours are up”.
Halls is looking at Baxter for a few seconds before he answers.
“A lot of us wonder why Scotland Yard is so interested in this fellow Coke. He isn’t the first one to escape”.
“Coke isn’t just an ordinary prisoner. He’s very special. Let’s go now?”
3. The young policeman is angry. He is on the road now. The wind is cold and is blowing snow into his face.
“That stupid sergeant!” he thinks. “We must be one of the last stations in England that still uses bikes, and he sends me out on one on a night like this!” When he gets to the top of the hill he sees the house down below, at the bottom of the hill. Just as he is looking down at it, he sees a light go on in one of the rooms upstairs.
“Stupid! That’s what it is, sending me out on a night like this!” the policeman says again. Then he gets on his bike and begins to go down the hill very fast, towards the house.
Useful words and expressions:
village
police station
sergeant
wonder
in fact
find out
on a night like this
besides
bike
get off
platform
shake hand
to phone
waste
social formalities
fellow
ordinary prisoner
special
angry
blow
stupid
send out
hill
Choose the correct answer. Don’t use the text.
1. The sergeant wanted the other policeman to go to Mrs Bently…
to bring her the papers;
to see if she’s all right;
to catch the criminal;
2. Halls wonders why …
a) Scotland Yard is so interested in this fellow;
b) Baxter came;
c) Baxter is in such a hurry.
3. The young policeman is angry because…
he has no car.
the weather is very bad.
the house is very far.
Answer the questions:
1. What did the old woman offer to Coke?
2. What kind of clothes did Coke find?
3. Where was Coke before he sent to prison?
4. What couldn’t the police prove?
5. Why do they want to catch him as soon as possible?
The man who escaped
(episode 6)
1. “You know your clothes are in a terrible state”, the old lady said after the meal. “My husband was just about your size. A little heavier perhaps. All these clothes are upstairs. They are no good to him. He died two years ago”. She pointed up to the above them. “Why don’t you see if any of clothes fit you. You can bring them back tomorrow”.
“Nobody can be this lucky!” Coke thought to himself. He went upstairs and turned the light on. He found a heavy jacket, a woolen shirt and some trousers hanging in the room.
2. “What do you know about Coke?” Baxter asked Halls. They are in the car now. “Very little, I’m afraid. In fact, I don’t think, I know anything about him at all. Wasn’t he the fellow who was in that spy case about four years ago?”.
“Yes. That’s right. Coke always said it wasn’t him…that it was someone else”.
“That’s what they all say. But what’s so special about him?” “Coke was in Army Intelligence. He knew important secrets. We could never understand why he sold them. There wasn’t a real motive. Some said he did it for money. We couldn’t prove it, but if he was a spy, he still knows too much. We could never find out who he sold secrets to. That’s why we have to catch him before he makes contact with any of his old friends!”
3. Coke put the clothes on as quickly as he could. They were old, but they were warm. When he came downstairs, the old lady was still in front of the fire. She smiled when she looked at him. “You know, you look just like my husband in those clothes…when he was much younger, of course”. Coke tried to be polite. He wanted to leave quickly.
“I can’t thank you enough. It’s very kind of you to do all this for me”. The old lady didn’t seem to hear him. “Just like my husband”, she said again. Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Useful words and expressions:
terrible
state
heavier
perhaps
upstairs
downstairs
no good
point up
fit
lucky
turn on
bring
heavy jacket
woolen
in fact
fellow
a spy
case
army intelligence
secret
motive
make contact
sold
look like
enough
a knock
Choose the correct answer. Don’t use the text.
1. Old woman’s husband was…
a) a little lighter
b) a little heavier
c) of the same size
2. The police wanted to catch Coke as soon as possible because …
he was in Army Intelligence
he was a spy
he could make contact with any of his old friends
3. There was a knock at the door when…
Coke is looking very pleased.
Coke was talking with the old woman
Coke was putting on the clothes
Answer the questions:
1. What did the old woman offer to Coke?
2. What kind of clothes did Coke find?
3. Where was Coke before he sent to prison?
4. What couldn’t the police prove?
5. Why do they want to catch him as soon as possible?